Method and means for making carbon dioxide snow



F. R. ZUMBRO June 2l, 1932.

METHOD AND MEANS FvOR MAKING CARBON DIOXIDE SNOW Filed Jan. 23, y19:29

Patented June 21,. 1932 i .PA-TENT o FFICE naaien R. zUmBRo, oF wAYNEsBoRdENNsYLvmA, AssIGNon To rnrcx' comm,

F WAYNESBOBO, PENNSYLVANIA,

A CORPOBATQN 0F PENNSYLVANIAA METHon AND MEANS ron'maxme cannon moms. snow Application med 'January 23,1929.V serial No. 334,564.

This invention relates to method and ap-v paratus for manufacturing carbon dioxide snow or 1ce.

- .An object of the invention is to provide a system for making s now or ice from carbon D dioxide which will operate more efficiently than machines now known.

- A further objectis to provide in a system -for making .carbon dioxide snow a cooling unit by means of which water 1n the carbon dioxide Huid will be frozen out thereby dry-n ing the carbon dioxide fluid. v

Another object isto provide a system for I making carbon dioxide snow which will opcrate at `pressures lower than hitherto found necessary. z

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds.

-Referring to the accompanying drawing, which is made a part hereof and on which similar reference characters indicate similar parts, s A

The figure shows a complete snow manufacturing system using my invention.

In the manufacture of carbon dioxide snow and ice as hitherto carried out it has been found necessary to operate the system under enormously high pressures, this pressure seldom falling below-750 pounds per square 3o inch. One difculty of operating under pressures lower than this was that water contained in the carbon 'dioxide fluid became frozen at the expansion nozzle to the snow machine.,

By means of Aa suitable cooling umt, such for example as that shown in 'my co-pending application Serial No. 333,559, .led January 19, 1929, for Liquid cooler, I am able to freeze lout all water from the carbon dioxide fluid. By this dryin method the carbon dioxide fluid is rendere free from water which would freeze in the carbon dioxide line at the expansion nozzle'. By using a cooling unit to 'dry the carbon dioxide liquid, I am able to operate thesystem under pressures lower than hitherto found necessary. In my ,system therefore, I have provided a reducing va ve between the-receiver in which the fluid is under hi h pressure and the 'cooler in which the uid 1s cooled'before its admission to the snow machine. This feature is of considerable importance. By the removal of mois ture from the carbon dioxide Ifluid inthe cooler, and the operation at lower pressures, I am able to operate with a' greater opening at the expansion valve on the snow machine than when the pressures are high, resulting in improved operation by permitting better adjustment. Furthermore pressure reduction results in a paratus.

In the drawing numeral 10 indicates a first stage compressor unit having an intake 11 and a .discharge 12. The discharge line 12 leads to a second stage compressor 13, from' which the fluid passes through a line 14 to a condenser 15. From the condenser the fluid passes to a receiver 16. The condenser' 15 may ,be cooled in any suitable way as b means of a coil shown at 17, through which7 coolingiluid may be'passed. From the receiver 16. fluid passes to a pipe 18 which branches, one branch 19 entering a cooling coil 20 in a liquid cooler.21. An expansionvalve 22 controls admission of fluid from-the pipe 19 to the cooling coil 20.v Expanded uid from the cooling coil 20 passes through a line 23 to the pipe 12 throu passes to the intake of the secon stage compressor 13. The pipe 18 has a reducing valve shown at 24, through which the pressure of thenid in the receiver 16 is lowered before its entry into the cooler 21. From the cooler 21 the cooled carbon dioxide passes through a -pipe 25 andan expansion valve. 26 to a. snow machine 27. Such of the -iliid as is not frozen in the snow machine 27 passes to the \1`r1/e 11 through which it is drawn into the iii-. take of the rst stage compressor 10. From time to time if found necessary hot gasmay 'be passed through this cooler to thaw the water from the coil 20.` 'The water may be i drawn olf through the valve 28.

Instead of taking Huid from the line- 19 I h which Iit The operation ofthe system should be ap? rom the description which has justA pi'ent n: given. Fluid is compressed,condensed greater factor of safety in the apand delivered to a receiver 16 under high pressure. The pressure in the receiver 16v may range between 7' 00 and 1200 pounds per square inch. From the receiver 16 the fluid passes toa cooler 21 through the reduction valve 24 where its pressure is lowered. This pressure may be regulated as desired to operate at any pressure below that in the receiver. I have been ableto operate at pressures as low as 500 pounds in the cooler. The cooler 2l is therefore filled with iiuid under greatly reduced pressure from that in the receiver 16. Fluid from the receiver 16 under high pressure is plassed through the line 19 and expanded t rough the expansion valve 22 into the coil 20 wlthin the cooler -21. This expansion iiuid cools the fluid in the cooler 21, which surrounds the coil. Any water which may be mixed with the carbon dioxide in the cooler is frozen u on the coils 20. The vcarbon dioxide there ore is dried and passes through the pipe 25 to the snow ,machine, where it is expanded toform snow or ice. By drying out the carbon dioxide inthe cooler 21 I remove all danger of freezing at the expansion valve in the snow machine. This enables me to operate the system under pressure much lower than that' hitherto found possible with uid which contained a portion of water liquid with the liquid carbon i dioxide.

The liquid vfrom the `receiver may be reduced in pressure vfrom 700 to 1000 pounds per square inch to approximatel. 500 pounds, and consequently is c'ooled to t e saturation temperature corresponding to this pressure. By this reduction in pressure a certain amount of gas may be -generated vto cool the liquid, but, it is thought, the gas thus generated will be condensed into a liquid again by means of the cold contact surfaces in the cooler. The abstractionof heat therefore l required to cool the liquid from condenser the snow expansion valve lis the use ofa vcooler for drying the carbon dioxide'liquld prior to its expansion into the snow, machine.

The reducing valve is a means for operating the system under pressures lower `than those found necessary in methods and apparatus heretofore used. Y A

New carbon ldioxide fluid may be supplied to the system to replace that which has become scribed in my co-pending application Serial N o. 313,887, filed October 20, 1928, for Method and apparatus for manufacturing carbon dioxide ice from liquid carbon dioxide, which comprises a header 29 to which may be at.

tached commercial carbon dioxide drums 30. The line 29 may be attached to the line 23 through which fluid under pressure in the drums may pass to theline 12 and then to the intake of the second stage compressor 13.

Carbon'dioxide from an sourcemay also be drawn through pipe 31 rectly into the line 11 and into the first stage compressor 10.

While I have shown this as a desirable way of admitting iuid to the system, Iy do not wish to be limited by this showin'g, as the system will operate with equal eiciency where gas from any suitable source is supplied to thesystem.

It will be obvious to those skilled the art .i

that various changes may be made in my device without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I, therefore, do not limit myself to what is shown inthe drawing and described iny the specification, but only as set forth in the appended claims,

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I clalm 'as new and desire to secure by Letters'Patent, is: y

1. The method of making carbon dioxide snow which'consists in compressing, cooling and condensing a iuid mixture of carbon dioxide and water, passing a portion `of the fluid t'o a cooling chamber and simultaneously reducing its pressure, expanding another portion of the fluid in heat exchange relation with said cooling chamber to cool the low pressure fluid therein and .to freeze out the water content in the said fluid therein, the said. freezing action operatingto enable the fluid to be expanded at a lo w vpressure `through the expansion valve of a snow machine without freezing in the said valve, substantially asset fort 2. TheA method of making carbon dioxide snow which comprises compressing and liqquefyingfcarbon dioxide gas, reducing the pressure of a portion of said carbon dioxide and conducting said portion to a cooling chamber, expanding another portion from the condenser to cool the first named portion, and expanding the cooled portion to a snow machine, substantiallyas set forth. Y

3.v The method of making carbon dioxide snow which comprises compressing, cooling and liquefying carbon dioxide gas, conducting the liqueiied carbon dioxide to a receiver, conducting a portion of the liquid from said receiver, reducing its pressure and delivering itto a cooler, expanding a portion of the liq- .uid `from said receiver to cool the carbon dioxide within the cooler, conducting the cooled forth.

carbon dioxide from the cooler and expanding it to a snow machine, substantially as set 4. The method of making carbon dioxide snow which comprises compressingy cooling and condensing a iluid mixture of carbon dioxide and Water, reducing the ressure of va portion of said Huid, drying said iuid by freezing the moisture therefrom and conduct-- n uid carbon dioxide whereby the carbon d1 ing the said dried fluid to a snow machine and expanding it therein, substantially as set forth.

5. The method of making carbon dioxide snow which comprises compressing, cooling and condensing a iuid mixture of carbon d1- oxideand water, reducing the pressure of a portion of said fluid, and conducting said reduced portion to a cooler, expanding another portion of the uid from the condenser to cool and dry the first named portion, expanding the cooled fluid to a snow machine to form snow, and conducting any unfro'zen expanded :carbon dioxide to the intake of the compression system, substantially as set forth.-

6. n snow having means for compressing and condensing a fluid mixture of carbon dioxide and v water, a receiver, a liquid cooler means be- 'tween the receiver and the cooler for reducing the pressure of the carbon dioxide as it enters the cooler and means in said liquid cooler for freezing out the water content of the liqoxide may be delivered through an. ex ansion nozzle to `a snow machine without tgeczing in the nozzle, substantially as set forth.:

7. In a system for making carbon dioxide snow, a series of compressors, a condenser, a receiver, a hquid cooler, means for expand-A ing the liqluefied gas from the receiver into the liquid co'o l for conducting Huid from the receiver to the A liquid cooler, and pressure reducing means in the .said latter forth. A o

8. In a system for making carbon dioxide means, substantially as set snow, having means for compressing, cooling and condensing carbon dioxide fluid, a receiver, a. liquid cooler, means for conducting uid from the receiver to the liquid cooler.

means for reducingthe pressure as the fluid.

hand at Waynesboro, Pennsylvania'this 16th day of January, A. D. nineteen hundred and 111113.

` R. ,ZUMBBQ a system for making carbon dioxide p er to cool the same, another means 

